Coffee balance



April 2s, 1953l B, EACRETT 2,636,724

COFFEE BALANC Filed March 50, 1950 Patented Apr. 28, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE CGFFEE BALANCE Cliord B. Eacrett, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Application March 30, 1950, Serial No. 152,895

(Cl. 265-63) l 8 Claims. 1

My invention relates to devices for proportioning by weight twomaterials to be mixed together in definite ratios to secure a mixturehaving definite characteristics desired by the user, the device beingadjustable in order that mixtures of different characteristics may beobtained. It will be understood that when the device has been set forselected materials, it will operate to provide the desired mixture anynumber of times without further setting.

The device is of the kind comprising resiliently supported weighingmembers maintained horizontal during movement on a base and carryingpointers reading on a scale mounted on the base.

The device will be described hereinafter as applied to the proportioningof coffee and water to provide drinking coffee, but it will be evidentthat the device is not limited to such use.

In brewing coffee uniformity of successive brews cannot be obtainedwithout careful measuring of the amount of coffee to each cup of water;such carefulness is distasteful to many persons and is therefore veryprone not to be exercised.

Different types of coffee require different proportions of coffee towater, and of course the taste of different individuals varies as to thestrength of coffee desired, or different strengths of coffee may bedesired by the same individual at different times.

t is an object of my invention to provide a proportioning device whichmay be readily set by trial to thereafter produce a brew of coffeehaving the strength desired by merely bringing pointers into alinementon a scale marked to indicate the number of cups being made.

lt is a further object of my invention to provide a coffee to waterproportionng device which, after initial setting, will determine thecorrect proportion of coffee to water to produce drinking coffee havingthe strength of the selected mixture, provided the same brand of coffeeis used, and to provide means whereby the strength of the mixture may bereadily adjusted if required, or if another type of coifee is used.

It is another object of my invention to provide an accurate coffeeproportioning device of simple and inexpensive construction which willprovide long service without deterioration in accuracy.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coffee proportioningdevice with primary means for initially setting the relative position ofspring supported members, said means not being used for ordinaryadjustments, for which other secondary adjustment means are provided.

Still further objects and features of my invention will hereinafterappear from a study of the following description read with reference tothe accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of theinvention at present deemed preferable by me, but it is to be understoodthat various changes and modications may be made in the describedembodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the measuring orproportioning means of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, with parts sectioned, looking in thedirection of the arrows 3 3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation looking in the direction of thearrows fl-t in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross section on the line 5-5 of Fig. fi, anddrawn on a larger scale;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross section on the line S--E of Fig. 3, anddrawn on a larger scale; and

Fig. 7 is a detail view in perspective of a member effective to adjustthe tension of the spring shown in Fig. 5.

In the drawings the numeral it indicates a base on which is secured acentrally located pedestal I2. A pair 0f bifurcated arms Hi, i' of equallength are each pivoted at one end at iii, Il, respectively, to saidpedestal l2, as for instance on the ends of shafts Ita, lla in Fig. 3extending through the pedestal.

At their opposite ends the arms it, I5 are pivotally secured by means ofpivot shafts i8, i9 to a vertical stem 2t, the lower end of which isspaced from the base by a compression coil spring 22 positioned betweenthe lower end of the stem 2i) and the base IQ, and retained in positionin any suitable way with respect to both the stem and the base.

A container supporting plate 2li is secured horizontally to the upperend of the stem 2t, as for instance by a screw 2d.

A stop 15a: may be provided on the pedestal l2 which serves to limit theupward movement of arm I5 and thereby determines the raised position ofplate 24.

An indicator mount in the form of a rod 28 is secured at its upper endto plate 2li and is bent so as to extend vertically alongside a metalplate d 3@ mounted vertically on the base l5, as by a flange 3i, securedto the base by screws 32.

The metal plate :it is marked on its face, as indicated at 33 with ascale to show cups of coffee and fractions thereof of a standard size.

A pointer ed is slidably mounted on rod 28 and projects over one side ofscale 33 in close proximity thereto. The pointer is frictionally held inany position to which it may be adjusted on rod 28.

A second pair or bifurcated arms 36, 3l are each pivoted at one end tothe pedestal l2 as indicated at .38, 39, respectively, on the projectingends of shafts similar to shafts its, l'l'a, extending through thepedestal i2. The opposite ends of the arms tt, Si' are pivoted to astein ffl-fi as indicated at di, d2 in a similar manner vtoarrns I4, l5.

To provide rigid yet light construction-'of 'arms l, I5, Sii and 3l iprefer to form each arni from Aa .wide stripnof met-al with bent up sidezflanges,

the web being of course cut away -to clear the support l2 andthe stems22 and By this construction distortion of thearrns is prevented.

A second container supportingr plate ld is secured horizontally totheupper end Iof stern itil. An indicator vmount ferry-ed as a length ofrod 135 is secured at one endto plate lll and is bent to extendalongside the metal ,plate Eil on the `oppositeside thereof to rod 2S.

Apointer til isslidably mounted onrod d5 and projects over the side ofscale opposite to that traversed by pointer 3d. The pointer is vheldfrictionally in vany position to which it may be adjusted on redde.

It kwill benoted thatsince the arms or" veach pair of arms is parallel,and are pivoted 'to the -stems'ii and itil on lines parallel to oneanother,

whileboth pairs of arms are pivoted to pedestal l2 on a common line alsoparallel tothe lines on which the arms `are'co'.finected to the stemsEil and lid, the plates'fd and .fifi willfalways remain horizontal, butmay movaverti'cally relatively to teach other.

vResilient-rieans are provided 'for resisting. downward movement ofstern `and vplate land adjustment of the resista-nce of said resilientmeans by theuser'isprovided'ioix The resilient means comprise a tensioncoil springer of less resistance than spring 22 and securedat its'lowervendto a bracket 512 vriveted or otherwise attached to lower arm 3l.Theucper end `of the spring'iii is secured to anar. provided withasquare opening slida-bly iitting on a souare section `stern or post `55and adjustably secured thereon-by a set screw 53. 55 ismountedvertically in a socket menber rsecured to the base id and isprovided with a headl iitting in an undercut in the socket member andpreventing axial Inovevment of the stem 5R.

A container 59 for Water is placedon'plate l2d and a container iixforcoffee-is placed on plate lill.

Springs ii?. and till Vare of such strength that .spring 22 den-ects asmuch under the Weight of one cup of water as spring 5i) Vdeiiects under`the usual weight of the amount of coffee added to one Ycup of .coffeein makinga drinlrof coffee.

Before tightening set screw 5t, arm dll may be slidup or down the squaresectionstein although held against rotation thereon thus setting thelower end of the stem-ill relatively to pariJ Iii. .Thisadjustrnent ismade when initially setting .the Ydevice at the 'factory for useinpreparing i coiee of average strength from a standard type of coffee.

A means of varying the resistance of spring 5i! is also provided for theuser to adjust the device to secure a coffee to water ratio which willmake a brew to his particular liking, and is best shown in Fig. 5 and isnow described.

Engaging with the top coils of spring 5d is a spider Some of the armsSi. of the spider extend above and some below the wire of the coils butenablethe spider to be rotated 'on the wire. A shaft or stern td havingan enlarged knurled head @t is mounted in a hole drilled in arm 5ft and-is rigidly secured to the s er. Rotating stem @il in a clockwisedirection causes the spider to addnioreactive coils to the spring,lessening the tension in the spring and permitting it to yield to agreater degree for an equal weigh-t of coee and therefore requires thata greater amount of water be added to bring the water containersupportingsteinrandits associated indicator opposite theindicator of thecoee supporting stem, thus enabling the user to securea weaker brew.Turningthe stern counterclocirwise has the reverseeifect and results inastronger brew. It will be seen that spider is an inter-coil verticallyadjustable member which .may be positioned to underlie a longer orshorter .part of the .up-per end portion of the spring.

Referring to certain .details of construction, integral, tapered bossesi205 projecting-laterally from the pedestal i2 and like `bosses Edtionthe stencs Aand cooperate withadjacent moving parts to reducefriction. y

Operation mark, the weight ci thewater .container being thus compensatedfor.

It is proposed to furnish with the :device a ground coffee container ofmeasuring cup size, which holds enough coifee to brew about-,twelve cupsof average strength coffee. This container indicated at placed empty onplate fifi and its weight is compensated for by following out a similarvprocedure with pointer d3 :as Was carried out with pointer bothpointers :will then be against the zero marl: Oon scaled?) with bothempty containers in place.

Water is then pouredinto Ythe watercontainer until pointer is oppositeto the number of cups desired to be brewed. as shown on scale Groundvcoffee is then poured into Athe coffee container until pointer dil isin alinement'with pointer 3d. The water cofee containers Iare thenremoved and the contents are poured .into the appropriate coffee makingutensil, or the Water is irst kbrought to the boiling point beforeadding it to the utensil and the 'fnixture'is brewed.

If the user likes coffee stronger than the average, he turns the head ofstemfl counterclockwise sufficiently to maire the desired test and brewssome coffee, repeating `this testingprocess until he secures the rightstrength or brew. The

adjustment will be the converse of that described should a weakersolution of coffee be required.

After securing the desired strength of brew by trial, it will not benecessary to again change the adjustment no matter whether only one cupor several cups are desired.

I claim:

1. A coffee and water proportioning device, comprising: a base; apedestal mounted on said base; a pair of stems; container supportingplates secured to said stems, one of which is adapted to support acontainer for water and the other of which is adapted to support acontainer for ground coffee; two pairs of parallel spaced arms of equallength, one pair of being pivoted at one end to the pedestal and at theother end to one stem, and the other pair being pivoted at one end tothe pedestal and at the other end to the other stem, the arms beingeffective to constrain the stems in vertical position during movement; acoil compression spring arranged between the stem supporting the watercontainer and the base; a vertical stem projecting upwardly from thebase and having a laterally projecting arm; a tension spring having itsupper end secured to said arm and its lower end secured to a partconnected to yieldably hold the ground coffee container supporting stemabove the base; pointer supporting means secured to each containersupporting plate; pointers frictionally held on said pointer supportingmeans and adjustable thereon; a vertical scale on said pedestal having azero mark, against which said pointers are set for the purposedescribed, said scale being marked downwardly in cups of coffee;adjustment means for said tension spring, comprising: a rotatable stemmounted vertically in said arm to extend intothe turns of said tensionspring and held against downward movement therein; and a spider rigidlysecured to said stem to extend across said second coil spring andprovided with parts engaging slidably with a coil of said spring wherebyrotation of said stem in one direction is effective to draw coils of thespring from below to above said spider to stiffen the spring, androtation of the stem in the opposite direction is effective to feedcoils from above to below the spider lto weaken said spring.

2. A device of the kind described for proportioning two materials ofdifferent weight to be mixed in a selected proportion, comprising:resilient means yieldably supporting a quantity of one material; avertical stem and an arm projecting laterally therefrom and slidablyadjustable thereon; means for clamping said arm in adjusted position onsaid stem; a coiled tension spring secured at its upper end to saidlaterally projecting arm; a second material supporting mea-ns, saidcoiled spring being secured at its lower end to said second materialsupporting means; and a rotatable stem mounted vertically in said arm toextend into the turns of said tension spring and held against downwardmovement in the arm; a spider rigidly secured to said stem to extendacross said coiled spring and provided with parts engaging slidably witha coil of said coiled spring whereby rotation of said stem in onedirection is effective to draw coils of the spring from below to abovesaid spider to stiffen the spring, and rotation of the stem in theopposite direction is effective to feed coils from above to below thespider to weaken said spring.

3. A coffee and water proportioning device comprising a base; a pedestalmounted on said base; a pair of stems; container supporting platessecured to said stems, one of which is adapted to support a containerfor water and the other of which is adapted to support a container forground coffee; two pairs of parallel spaced arms of equal length, onepair being pivoted at one end to the pedestal and at the other end toone stem, and the other pair being pivoted at one end to the pedestaland at the other end to the other stem, the arms being effective toconstrain the stems in vertical position during movement; a coilcompression spring arranged between the stem supporting the watercontainer and the base; a vertical stern projecting upwardly from thebase and having a laterally projecting arm; a tension spring having itsupper end secured to said arm and its lower end secured to a partconnected to yieldably hold the ground coffee container supporting stemabove the base; pointer supporting means secured to each containersupporting plate; pointers frictionally held on said pointer supportingmeans and adjustable thereon; a vertical scale on said pedestal having azero mark opposite which said pointers are set for the purposedescribed, said scale being marked downwardly in cups of coffee to bebrewed; a vertically adjustable stem carried by said arm and extendingdownwardly therefrom; and a member carried by the downwardly extendingportion of said stem and adjustable by means of the latter to underlie alonger or shorter part of the upper end portion of said tension spring,thus to vary the supporting force thereof in relation to said groundcoffee container.

4. A coffee and water proportioning device comprising, mounting means, acoiled compression spring mounted thereon, a carrier plate for a watercontainer supported from below by said compression spring, a verticallyextending elongated coiled tension spring pendantly supported by saidmounting means, a carrier plate for a coffee container, a verticallymovable stem secured to and extending downwardly from the latter carrierplate, means operatively connecting said stem from below with the lowerend of said tension spring, spring tensioning means carried by saidmounting means in engagement with the upper end portion of said pendantspring and adjustable to vary the number of coils of the spring aboveand below said tensioning means, only the coils of the spring which arebelow said tensioning means being effective to oppose downward tractionapplied to the lower end of the spring by the weight of the coffee, andindicating means indicating the extent to which said water container andcarrier plate are depressed by their loads in opposition to saidsprings, said indicating means comprising pointers connected to saidplates to move up and down with them, and a graduated scale carried bysaid base in a co-operative relation to said pointers.

5. A base, a rst elongated coiled spring upstanding from said base, asupport resting upon the upper end of said spring, a container mountedupon said support to move up and down therewith in opposition to thecompressive action of said spring in accordance with the weight ofInaterial deposited in said container, a post upstanding from said base,a horizontally extending arm having one end attached to said post, asecond elongated coiled spring pendantly suspended in an endwise mannerfrom said arm, a second support and container carried by said secondspring, said second support being connected to the lower end of saidsecond coiled spring, pointers operatively connected to and movable upand down with said rsteandsecondsupports, zandja graduatedlscale carried,by said basein a position to A(zo-operate `with both of said pointers.

.6. The subject Amatter of claim 15 and .adjust- `ablerneans connectedWithtnecoilso saidsec- :ondlspring toprenderinoperative a varyngnum-Iber of .the vcoils of the spring, ythus to vary the resisting powerthereof.

'7. VA device of tnekind described comprising .1a base, vairstandsecondvertically7 movable supjport for two materials .subsequently to be.blended to lmake a brew, a springcarried by said .base in :a positionrvto oppose downwardA movement vof said ,.rst support, Va springAmediately 'car- '.ried vby said vbase Vin a position to opposedownwardmovement of said secondL suppormviidicating Vmeans 1in twoco-,operatingparta one carried by -Jsaid supports and the other by :saidbase to indicate the extent to which each of saidsupports fis moveddownwardly by material placed on it, andmeans to regulate the amount ofopposition .to .the depression of .said second support bythe springfassoiated therewith Vto determine the strength of the brew.

8. AA device of the kind described comprising a base, a rst and a secondvertically movable support for two materials subsequently kto beblended, a Apointer mediately connected with said rst zsupport, apointer .-mediatel/vu connected zwithsaid second support, an indicatingscale .,carried 'by said base ,in `a Acao-operative relation to said`pointeraa Acompression springnterposed between .said base and,saidrstsupport astem opstanding from said base, a verticallyfadjustable.arm carried by said stem and projecting Vlaterally therefrom, a tensioncoil spring depending from .said arm, means carried by said arm to,adjust .the tensional resistance of said coil spring, Yand verticallymovable means attached to the lower end of said tensonspring andconnected with .said `second support to oppose downward `Inovement ofthe latter.

` CLFFORDBEAcRETT.

References Cited ,in ytl'leifile .of this Apatent UNITED STATESPA"1`E1\.'\'1"SI

